Tawasa is an extinct Native American language. Ostensibly the language of the Tawasa people of what is now Alabama, it is known exclusively through a word list attributed to a Tawasa named Lamhatty, collected in 1707.

John Swanton studied the Lamhatty word list and identified the language as a Timucuan dialect, suggesting it was intermediary between Timucua and Muskogean. This opinion has been the subject of significant scholarly debate, with some such as Julian Granberry considering it a dialect of Timucua, others arguing it was a distinct language in the Timucua family, and yet others such as John Hann doubting that Lamhatty was a Tawasa at all. The language shows significant Alabama influence, including the Muskogean same-subject suffix -t.

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In 1707 an Indian named Lamhatty arrived in the British colony of Virginia, eventually arriving at the estate of Colonel John Walker. Taking an interest in him, Walker introduced him to colonial historian Robert Beverley. Through an interpreter, Lamhatty explained that he was from the village of Tawasa near the Gulf of Mexico. He had been captured and enslaved by the Tuscarora, who transported him eastward and sold him to the Savannah people. He escaped and traveled north to Virginia. Walker recorded the 60-word lexicon he learned from Lamhatty on the back of a letter, while Beverley wrote an account of Lamhatty's story. According to Beverley, Walker began treating Lamhatty like a slave once he learned other Tawasa were enslaved. Lamhatty escaped and went into the woods, never to be heard from again.[1]

There has been scholarly debate about the place of Tawasa among languages. Studying the word list in the early 20th century, John Swanton noted the similarity with the Timucua language, and suggested Tawasa was an intermediary with Muskogean. Linguist Julian Granberry identifies it as a dialect of Timucua.[2] Others, such as John Hann, are skeptical of the accuracy of Beverley's account. He questions whether Lamhatty was a Tawasa at all.[3]

Tawasa words are a bit difficult to make out, due to English respellings. For example, oo, ou corresponds to Timucua u, ough to o, eu to yu, and often e, ee to Timucua i. Tawasa w corresponds to Timucua b, which was probably pronounced [β]. Timucua c, q were [k]; qu was [kʷ]. Some of the following correspondences have a final t in Tawasa, which appears to be a Muskogean suffix. Others appear to have the Timucua copula-la. Timucua forms are Mocama dialect.

Tawasa

Timucua

gloss

effalàh

efa-la

dog

písso

pesolo

bread

soúa

soba

meat

pítcho-t

picho

knife

ocoò-t

ucu

drink

heă-t

hiyaraba

cat

yáukfah

yaha

1

eúksah

yucha

2

hóp-ho

hapu

3

checúttah

cheqeta

4

márouah

marua

5

mareékah

mareca

6

pekétchah

piqicha

7

pekénnahough

piqinaho

8

peétchcuttah

peqecheqeta

9

toómah

tuma

10

tomo-eúcha

tuma-yucha

20

foóley

hue-le

hand

hewéenou

hinino

tobacco

ocut-soúa

ucuchua

door

oū

ho

I

hé

he

you

uēkqūah

ca

here

uēkheth

heqe

there

hĕmèh

hime

come

héwah

hiba

sit down

loókqŭy

(a)ruqui

boy

néăh

nia

woman

wiedōō

biro

man

colúte

colo

bow

wiéo-tt

ibi

water

wiéo-tt opù-t

ibi-api

salt water

yōwe

yayu

great

chicky, chiéky

chiri, qichi

little

sōquàh

chuca

how many

Correspondences with Muskogean and Timucua are,

Tawasa

Muskogean

Timucua

gloss

chesapà

Alabama: časi

tapola

maize

hássey

Alabama: haši

ela

sun

ássick

Alabama: nila haši

acu

moon

chénah, chénoh

Natchez: ičina

oqe

he

tútcah

Creek: tó'tka

taca

fire

Although ássick 'moon' appears to be an Alabama form, its compounds are Timucuan: